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More on Helms-Burton U.S.; Violations of international law

From Ekkehard Jaenicke, <E.Jaenicke@link-h.com>,
1 April 1996

Here in detail, some of the major aspects of Washington's anti-Cuba Helms-Burton Law. Let's first blame the main the sponsor to Helm-Burton, the BACARDI clan! That's why people worldwide name the new law BACARDI s law, too. The law takes the Cuba issue totally out of the U.S.-president's hands. No other U.S. president has ever been willing to renounce his constitutional prerogatives, this was up to weak "liberal" Billy.

With Helms-Burton, all properties in Cuba nationalized as of January 1st, 1959 must now be returned, by order of a foreign parliament, the U.S. congress. We must take a special note of the fact that the first people to lose their properties in Cuba, after having fled to Miami, were the thieves, torturers and assassins of the Batista dictatorship. The Cuban people will never be willing to capitulate and to give back their homes, schools and grocery stores to a class of individuals who had systematically exploited them.

With irony and indignation we notice another Helms-Burton absurdity. According to the law -- even under a transitional government recognized by Washington as `democratic' -- the U.S. blockade would not be lifted until all nationalized properties were returned. In other words, even after the hypothetical destruction of the Cuban Revolution -- even after the setting up of a new, capitalist power structure in Cuba more to Washington's liking -- the island would still be subjected to a blockade.

The Helms-Burton authorization to provide support to groups operating in Cuba, considered as `democratic' by Washington -- means that these groups are now a legally installed by the U.S. congress as Fifth Column.

Finally, the last absurdity is the Helms-Burton directive that the U.S. president must present periodic reports with detailed information on Cuba's international commerce. Cuba certainly will not be going to cooperate with the gathering of that information -- and will, in fact, make that information much more difficult to come by.

CALL FOR ACTION

This urgent message is directed to all progressive or left individuals, parties or groups / initiatives, worldwide.

Helms-Burton is the stroke of an alliance of U.S. interests combined with the old Batista mafiotic structures in Florida against the dignity of the Cuban people. Even medical aid to Cuba, collected by the "Pastors of Peace", an interdenominational groups of U.S. clergymen and -women, is now under confiscation by the U.S. customs office. What may be done by us? It would not be realistic to call for boycott of U.S. goods and services worldwide. But we are able to do what ecologists demonstrated in case of the SHELL company last year. This time we have to blame the BACARDI clan and the BACARDI company. BACARDI is the main sponsor of anti-Cuban actions outgoing from U.S. territory. BACARDI gives finan- cial contributions to Sen. Helms anti-Cuba campaign and to the "Brothers to the Rescue" and other groups trying to infiltrate and terrorize Cuba.

Let us show consumers' power and call for boycott of BACARDI products worldwide.

Our message:

Don't boycott Cuba, boycott the company behind Helms-Burton! Boycott BACARDI - That's my FEELING!

Ekkehard

** e.jaenicke@link-h.han.de / e.jaenicke@link-h.comlink.apc.org ** ecu-press / eps